Dana White: UFC could be on cusp of major sponsorship deal with Reebok

NEWARK, N.J. – UFC 159 main event winner and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones broke some major ground in 2012 when he signed a sponsorship deal with Nike. But Nike soon could have some in-octagon competition from one of its biggest competitors.

UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following UFC 159 that the promotion will meet with Reebok this week to talk about a major sponsorship opportunity.

“I’m flying to Boston right now,” White told MMAjunkie.com following the post-event news conference for UFC 159 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. “And then (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Fertitta) flies in there tomorrow night. (UFC Senior VP for Global Marketing Mike) Mossholder’s waiting for me, and a lot of the other big executives from the company are flying in and we’re meeting with Reebok on Monday.”

UFC fighters Jamie Varner and Johny Hendricks this past week inked sponsorship deals with the athletic shoe and apparel company, their management team at Knock Out Representation announced.

Earlier this year, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson complained prior to his final fight with the company that despite a sponsorship deal he had with Reebok, he wasn’t allowed to have the company as a sponsor in the cage.

But apparently the potential is there for that to end. And White said that should a deal be struck with Reebok, any UFC fighter would be able to represent the company inside the octagon.

Earlier this year, a UFC spokesperson told MMAjunkie.com that it would be interested in a potential deal with Reebok.

“We work with apparel companies from all over the world through our approved partnership program,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve not yet been approached by Reebok on behalf of ‘Rampage,’ but welcome the conversation. We do everything we can to support our athletes getting these types of sponsorships and will continue to do so moving forward.”

As for how that might jibe with Nike, which sponsors Jones, as well as Junior dos Santos, White said that company wasn’t aware of the meeting with Reebok.

White said having elite companies like Nike, and potentially Reebok, on board with the sport and the UFC’s athletes is a big change over the early years.

“It’s not just Reebok and Nike,” White said. “Metro PCS just did that thing down by Times Square (for fans on Wednesday), that tailgate out there today, which was cool. They’re doing national commercials, the one that just came out with Ronda (Rousey). CornNuts, Harley-Davidson, Bud Light, Kraft. Sponsorship for the fight business, in the last 17, 18 years, you haven’t seen any major sponsors other than Bud in boxing reaching out to combat sports. Our sponsorship right now is going through the roof.”

White gave credit to Mossholder for taking the UFC’s sponsorship game to the next level – and said Doritos, a Frito-Lay brand, is angling to come on board with the UFC, as well.

“(Sponsorship has) turned a huge page,” White said. “(Mossholder) is a big part of that. The guy’s a f—ing animal. The guy’s a stud, and he’s done huge things for this company as far as marketing goes. It’s a huge compliment (that brands want to be with us). Thirteen years ago, we weren’t allowed on pay-per-view. And now, if you look at the list of sponsors, not only the list of sponsors we have – Doritos was here tonight. The guys from Doritos were here tonight. We met and we talked for a while, and all the guys talk about is how much they love this sport.

“It’s crazy. We haven’t even scratched the surface as far as sponsorship goes. We’re really just starting to catch our stride with sponsorship.”

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?